By Anastassios Retzios, Ph,D
There is little doubt that all the maneuvering in Athens for the creation of a government of a “national unity” is nothing but a sham so that the leaders of the main parties would not have to sign the odious lending agreement which would not only surrender huge chunks of the Greek sovereignty to unelected officials, it would also turn all public property to them to dispose at will. This agreement is so extensive and so intrusive that in fact constitutes an official surrender of the country to foreign interests and it is actually far more pernicious than the requests of Benito Mussolini to Metaxas in October, 1940. The Greek Euroelite and its enablers are ready to sell the country for 11 billion euros as not to have to exit the Eurozone. The preservation of their privileges comes above and beyond the interests of the country.
The interests of the country dictate an immediate cessation of payments to foreign holders of the Greek debt (payments to Greek retirement funds and selected banks should continue), a return to our own currency and a restoration of our own central bank. Current accounts in Euros should be maintained by subjected to exchange controls. The likely devaluation of the new currency would lead to a tough period of adjustment, a period in which expensive imports would flushed out of the market to be substituted by local products or much cheaper imports. The regaining of our competitiveness would be followed by an increase in local manufacturing (mostly light) and services (such as shipping and tourism). After this period of adjustment, however painful, the likelihood is that the country would return to growth and would be able to look to the future with a degree of optimism.
If, however, the lending agreement is signed, the recession would continue, the drop in purchasing power will accelerate, services will deteriorate, hunger will ensue, unemployment will keep increasing and the debt would hardly disappear: it is projected to be at 120% GDP in 2020 (it was just 107% GDP in the beginning of 2010!!!). Is this really a choice that we should agonize over? Not really. But it is a painful one for the Greek Euroelite who would be called to abandoned many of its pretentions and its perks.
That a particular class has seen the dissolution of the country as co-fluent with its interests is not a new phenomenon in Greek history. In the 1400’s, the Greek Church prelates, wanting to keep their jobs and power, and infused with the mysticism of Hesychasm, convinced the people that their salvation laid with the Ottomans and not with the ruling aristocracy (which was seen as contaminated with humanism and seeking a compromise with Rome). We know how well this worked out!!!
Thus, this is a call to action by all of us, to stop this parliament and this discredited and unrepresentative political elite for signing the lending agreement demanded by Merkel, Sarkozy and their minions in the ECB and Brussels.
